Pocket check writer



Aug. 18,1925. 4 1,549,784

' R. E. MIDDLETON ET AL 7 POCKET CHECK WRITER Filed April 5, 1922 r 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS RQBERT MIDDLETON AND IVAN ENGSTRO A TTORNE Y.

Aug. 18, 1925.

1,549,784 R. E. MlDDLETON ET AL POCKET CHECK WRI TER Filed April 5, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 N VEN TORQ BERT [5. WI [nous Ton/m IVAN ENGSTEOM MIKE/3% A TTORNE Y.

Patented Aug. 18, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

POCKET CHECK WRITER.

Application filed April 8, 1922. Serial No. 548,918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT E. MIDDLE- TON and IVAN ENGSTROM, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of'Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Pocket Check Writers, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to a checkwriter for writing exact amounts in dollars and cents on checks, drafts and other desired papers in a manner to imprint the figures and characters upon the check or other paper and at the same time shred the paper to impregnate the fiber of the paper with the ink used in making the impression, which ink is preferably indelible. Our invention contemplates a kind of machine as described in such compact form that it may readily be carried in the pocket of the user.

Our machine is constructed in the general form of a pair of pliers to afford the hand of the user a secure hold on the machine, and also at'the same-time afford a ready means for moving the several parts of the machine as required to print the characters and figures.

Our invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment thereof in which I Fig. 1 shows the machine in top view,

Fig. 2 shows the machine in side elevation with a part of the casing broken away,

Fig. 3 is a detail top view of the table of the machine, a

Fig. 4 is a view showing a sample of the printing eflected by the machine,

Fig. 5 is a developed view of the type wheel of the machine, p

Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the upper jaw of the machine showing the manner of securing the casing thereto,

Fig. 7 is a detail view showing the manner of securing one of the adjustable guides or stops to the table of the machine,

Fig. 8 is a sectional view through the type and operating wheels showing the manner of mounting the type wheel in the casing and the connection between the type wheel and the operating wheel,

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the parts shpiwn in Fig. 8 taken along the line 9-9, an

connected by a suitable bolt orstud 12 and from said pivotal connection the handles are extended to form jaws 13 and 14: respectively. The jaw 14 has secured thereto a housing 15 preferably of sheet metal which may be secured to the jaw by suitable screws and between the side walls of the housing 15 a combined type wheel 16 and detent wheel 17 is mounted on a hollow shaft 18. A spring actuated detent 19 pivotally supported on a rod 20 carried by the jaw 14, engages the detent wheel 17 to hold the type wheel 16 in any position to which it may be moved. The rod 20 also carries a spring actuated arm 21 on the outer end of which an ink roller 22 is ro- ,tatably mounted to rest upon the surface of the type'wheel 16. The casing 15 is provided with an aperture 23 just above the ink roller 22 to permit inking said roller and a cover 24 is pivotally secured at 25 to the top of said casing to close said aperture between inking operations. The shaft 18 extends through the side walls of the casing 15 and at its outer end carries a wheel 26, the curved surface of which is divided into two portions, a first one adjacent the casing being smooth and provided with indicating characters corresponding. with the characters on the type wheel to facilitate setting the type wheel, and another portion at the outer end of said wheel 26 which is corrugated to facilitate engaging and turning the wheel 26 and thus the type wheel 16 against the action of the detent 19.

'The cover 24 is provided with an extension 24* from its pivotal portion terminating in a pointer immediately above the surface of the indicating portion of the wheel 26, said pointer indicating the particular one of the characters or figures of the type wheel that is in printing position at any particular time.

The lower jaw 13 of the machine has secured thereto a table 27 made preferably of sheet metal with downwardly extending, flanges around its edges to stiffen the table and to form supports for the mechan sm cars ried under the table. A portion of the table immediately below the portion of the type wheel that is in printing position is indicated at 28 as raised and provided with cutting ridges to form a platen for engaging the corresponding faces of the characters and figures on the type wheel to shred or tear the paper of the check during the printing operation. The downwardly extending flanges of the table 27 carry a shaft 29 upon which a milled feeding roller 30 is rigidly secured, which feeding roller as more clearly shown in Fig. 3 extends at its upper portion through a slot 27 in the table 27 to engage the check and feed it along a distance of one character for each operation of the machine. The shaft 29 also has rigidly secured thereto a ratchet wheel 31, the teeth of which are on its end portion and engaged by a pawl 32 extending through a suitable slot in the table 27 to its pivotal connection with the jaw 14 as indicated at 33. A spring 34 is provided around the pivotal support 33 to hold the pawl 32 in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 31. It will be noted that the pawl 32 preferably has several operating teeth to insure proper and positive operation of the wheel 31 and therefore of the feeding roller 30, since the pivotal support 33 moves in the arc of a circle and therefore changes the relation of the pawl 32 to the ratchetwheel during operation of the machine. A spring 35 may be mounted on the shaft 29 between the outer flange and the wheel 30 to lightly hold the wheel 30 against the edge .of the slot 27 to prevent back rotation of the wheel during motion of the jaw 14 towards the jaw 13, so that the feeding roller may be positively operated to advance the check during the opening movement of the jaws. A spring 36 is mounted on the handle pivot 12 so that its ends engage the handles 10 and 11 and tend to hold them' in separated relation moving the jaws to their open position. A clip 37 is mounted on the pivot rod 12 and provided with projecting lugs engaging the handles 10 and 11 to limit the movement of the handles under the action of the spring 36 in a manner to just afford proper clearance between the jaws and parts carried thereby so that a check may be inserted and removed.

A pressure roller 38 is supported above the feeding roller 30 on the outer end of an arm 39 pivotally mounted on the pivot rod 12 and continued beyond said pivot rod to form an operating handle 39 convenient to the thumb of the user so that pressure upon the handle 39 will raise the pressure roller 38 and permit the insertion and removal of a check. A spring 40 is provided on the pivot rod 1-2 which tends to hold the handle 39" in its uppermost position and the pressure iller 38 in a position resting upon the feeding roller 30 with sufficient force to cause proper engagement between the check and the feeding rol er to move the check one step for each printing operation of the machine. To further insure that the feeding roller 30 shall not move in a backward direction during the closing of the jaws of the machine, a spring actuated holding pawl 41 may be employed, which is secured to one of the side flanges of the table 27 in en-.

gagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 31. The side flanges 'of the table 27 carry gauges or stops 42, 42 held in place by studs 43, 43, each of these gauges or stops being preferably constructed as shown in Fig. 7 and having an upwardly extending hook 42 and a flange extending under the lower edge of the table flange as indicated at 42 to prevent displacement of the gauge. A slot 44 is provided in each gauge for receiving the stud 43 to permit adjustment of the gauge for different sizes of checks, and the fit of the parts is preferably such that the gauges are held in any desired adjustment by their frictional engagement with the table and supporting studs.

The table 27 carries a stripper 45 which as more clearly shown in Fig. 3, is provided with two arms 45 one on either side of the platen 28, the ends of the arms being bent downwardly through corresponding apertures in the table top to prevent a check from being inserted under the stripper.

As shown in Fig. 6 the'lower edge of the casing 15 may be securely held to the jaw 14 by lugs 15*, 15 bent towards each other and resting in a slot formed to receive the same on the lower face of the jaw 14, these lugs serving to communicate the pressure of the printing operation from the jaw 14 to the casing below the shaft 18.

As indicated in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 the type wheel 16 is mounted upon a hollow shaft 18 which shaft extends through the type Wheel and into a bushing 26*? carried by the operating wheel. The inner end of the shaft 18 is internally threaded and engaged by a screw 47 extending through the operating wheel 26.- The outer end of the shaft 18 is closed and provided with an enlarged head 46 contained in a corresponding hole in the wall of the casing 15 to form one support for the type wheel. The other end of the type wheel is extended into a hub 16 which contains a keyway extending across its face to receive a key 26 projecting from the bushing 26". The inner end of the bushing 26 is cylindrical and shouldered to engage a cylindrical hole in the corresponding wall of the casing 15, said hole being of somewhat smaller diameter than the diameter of the hub 16? as a result of Which the parts are held securely together by the screw 47 and all driving effort between the operating wheel 26 and the type wheel 16 is transmitted through the key and keyway engagement described and furthermore, substantial its being firmly held and retained inproper position in the operating wheel 26 which preferably is of molded composition such as hard rubber or mineral composition.

In using the machine the pressure roller 38 is raised and a blank check is inserted under the said roller against the gauges 42 ,in a position to-receive the first. character it is desired to print on the check. The wheel 26 is then rotated to bring the first desired character in line with the pointer 24 and the handles 10 and 11- are pressed together and then released to permit the jaws to separate. The wheel 26 is then moved to bring the second desired character under the pointer 24 and the handles are again brought together and released and so on for as many characters and figures as it is desired to print on the check or other paper, one at a time to form the complete printed amount, it being understood that the check is advanced the amount of one character for each printing operation as above described. WVhen the complete amountl1as been printed the pressure roller 38 is raised and the printed check is removed from the machine.

\Vhile we have shown our invention in the particular embodiment above described, it 35 at the time of the filing of this application without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is: 1. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pair of pivotally connected handles having jaws projecting from their pivot portions, a housing carried by one of said jaws, a type wheel rotatably mounted in said housing, a detent wheel in said housing and connected with said type wheel, a spring actuated detent for engag ing said detent wheel, an ink roller in said housing engaging said type wheel, an operating wheel outside of said casing and connected with said type wheel, a platen carried by the other jaw for engaging the character on said type wheel in printing position, said housing having an aperture therethrough adjacent said ink roller, and a cover for said aperture pivotally connected to said housing and having a pointer extending therefrom, said operating wheel having indicating characters adjacent said pointer.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pair of pivotally connected handles having jaws projecting from their pivot portions, a housing carried by one of said jaws, a type wheel rotatably mounted in said housing, a detent wheel in said housing and connected with said type wheel, a spring actuated detent for engaging said detent wheel, an ink roller in said housing engaging said type wheel, an operating whee-l outside of said casing and connected with said type wheel, a platen carried by the other awfor engaging the character on said type wheel in printing position, a table carried by said other jaw. for receiving a check to be printed, a feeding roller carried by said table, a pressure roller above said feeding roller, a pivotally mounted arm for supporting said pressure roller and having a handle for moving said pressure roller from said feeding roller, a ratchet wheel connected with said feeding roller: and a pawl carried by said one jaw for engaging said ratchet wheel, and gauges carried by said table, each gauge comprising a hook shaped member having a guiding flange engaging said table and a supporting stud extending through a slot in said gauge and holding said gauge in frictional, engagement with said table.

3. In a device of the class described, the.

combination of a pair of pivotally connected handles extending beyond their pivotal connection to form co-operating jaws, a type wheel carried by one of said jaws, a platen carried by the other of said jaws for engaging successively desired ones of the characters on said typewheel," aplaten support carried by the other of said jaws, and a spring stripper carried by said support and extending upon opposite sides of said platen and having its end portions bent towards said support and extending through clearance openings in said support.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pair of pivotally connected handles extending beyond their pivotal connection to form co-operating jaws, a type wheel carried by one of said jaws, a platen carried by the other of said jaws for engaging successively desired ones of the characters on said type wheel, a table carried by the other one of said jaws for supporting said platen, a feeding roller carried by said table, a ratchet wheel connected with said feeding roller, a pressure roller for engaging said feeding roller, a pivotally mounted arm supporting said pressure roller. and having a handle for moving said pressure roller away from said feeding roller, and a pawl connected with said one jaw for engaging said ratchet ioo wheel, the pivot connection between said projecting through said casing at one end, an operating wheel mounted on the projecting end of said shaft, a s ew extend.- ing through said operating wheel into threaded engagement with the end of said shaft, a bushing carried by said operating wheel around the projecting end of said shaft and a key and keyway carried by said.

bushing and said .type wheel held in engagement through said casing by said screw.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a type wheel, a casing enclosing said type wheel, a shaft extending through said casing and type wheel and projecting through said casing at one end, an operating wheel mounted on the projecting end of said shaft, a screw extending through said operating wheel into threaded engagement with the end of said shaft, and a key and keyway carried by said wheels and held in engagement by said screw.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a casing, a printing wheel in said casing, an inking element for inking said wheel, said casing having an aperture therethrough adjacent said inking element, an index member outside of said casing rotatable with said wheel and carrying indicating characters corresponding with the printing characters on said wheel, and a movable cover for said aperture having a pointer adjacent said index member to indicate the printing character that is in printing position.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pair of operating members, printing mechanism carried by said members, a rod pivotally connecting said members, feeding devices including a pressure roller and a supporting arm for said roller carried by said members, said supporting arm being pivotally mounted on said rod.

9. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pair of operatingmembers, printing mec anism carried by said members, a rod pivotally connecting said members, feeding devices including a pressure roller and a supporting arm for saidroller carried by said members, said supporting arm being pivotally mounted on said rod and extended beyond said rod to form an actuating handle.

10. In a device of the class described, the combination of a printing wheel, a nonmetallic operating Wheel, a bushing carried by said operating wheel, a shaft extending from said printing wheel into said bushing and held against longitudinal movement in said printing wheel, a fastening device securing said operating wheel to said shaft, and a key and keyway carried by said wheels and held in engagement by said fastening device.

11. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pair of pivotally connected handles extended beyond said pivotal connection to form jaws, printing mechanism carried by one of said jaws, a check supporting table carried by the other of said jaws having opposite edge flanges projecting away from said jaws, and feeding devices comprising a feeding roller,

ratchet wheel and shaft supported below said table in bearings in said flanges.

In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe our names this 27th day of March,

ROBERT E. MIDDLETON IVAN ENGSTROM. 

